A byproduct of many human activities is the generation of solid waste. At many industrial, commercial, retail and high density residential locations this waste is placed in a large container having a capacity of at least 20 yd.sup.3 (15 m.sup.3). Often, a waste compacting system is integrally coupled to this container. The waste compacting system includes a powered ram that is used to periodically compress the waste in order to pack as much waste as possible into a single container. An advantage of tightly packing waste in a container is that it minimizes the frequency with which a waste hauler needs to come to the site in order to remove the full container and provide a new, empty, container.
Over the years, the waste compacting systems used to compress waste have evolved into complex systems. Typically, a current waste compacting system includes processing equipment that generates data used to provide an indication of current container fullness and/or predict when, at a time in the future, the container will be full. For example, many compacting systems collect data representative of one or more of the following parameters: the force employed to actuate the compacting ram; the number of times the ram has been actuated since a new container was installed; and the weight of the container. In some current waste compacting systems, a processor internal to the system itself processes this data to provide an indication of current or future container fullness. In other current waste processing systems, the data processors internal to the systems simply store these data to make it available for retrieval by remote processors that perform the data analysis functions.
Accordingly, another component integral with a modern waste compacting system is a modem. The modem is the device that connects a data storage device internal to the waste compacting system to the telephone network so that the data can be forwarded to the appropriate destination. This destination is typically the office of a dispatcher that is associated with the hauler responsible for removing the filled waste containers. Thus, modern waste compacting systems typically include means for providing dispatchers at remote locations the data upon which these individuals can evaluate the fill state of the waste containers. Based on these fill state data, the dispatchers arrange for the pick up and replacement of a waste container at the time closest to when the container is filled to its maximum capacity.
Clearly, current waste compacting systems provide a convenient means to determine the status of waste container with only minimal on-site monitoring. However, there are some problems associated with these systems. In particular, the electronic components integral with these systems are prone to failure. There appear to be several reasons for this. In many locations at which these systems are installed, a significant amount of noise is carried into the systems over the complementary telephone lines. This noise has been found to disrupt the internal program running on a modem that controls the modem. Also, it should be understood that these waste container systems are located in an outside environment. The components forming the system are typically contained in a weather-proof metal housing. The ambient electromagnetic noise in the locations at which these systems are installed is suspected of penetrating these housings and disrupting the normal signal processing performed by the data processing elements and the modem.
One solution proposed to minimize the electromagnetic noise-induced failure of waste compacting systems is to simply provide components better able to withstand exposure to the noise. Clearly, this solution would reduce some of the failures that now occur. However, a disadvantage associated with this solution is that it requires providing components that are typically significantly more expensive to provide than current components. Moreover, these current components, or the housings with which they are integral, are typically of larger size than the current components. Thus, providing these components makes it more difficult to achieve another end goal in the design of waste compacting systems, to make the overall size of each compacting system as small as possible.